Brazilian Portuguese Object Pronouns: Me, Te, Se, and More

Level A2

Brazilian Portuguese Object Pronouns: Me, Te, Se, and More

Brazilian Portuguese often uses short pronouns such as me, te and nos before the verb. In monitored writing, you may also see pronouns attached to infinitives. After prepositions, forms include “with me,” “with you” and “with us.”

Object pronouns and companion forms

Pronouns by person and function

PersonSingularPluralFunction
PessoaSingularPluralFunção
1ª pessoamenosObjeto direto, destinatário ou reflexivo
Interlocutor: você / vocêste—Objeto direto, destinatário ou reflexivo
3ª pessoa: masculinooosObjeto direto
3ª pessoa: femininoaasObjeto direto
3ª pessoa ou interlocutorlhelhesDestinatário
3ª pessoa ou interlocutorseseReflexivo

Everyday object pronouns before the verb

sujeito me/te/nos verbo complemento.

Reflexive se

sujeito se verbo que indica uma ação sobre o próprio sujeito complemento.

Object pronouns attached to infinitives in formal writing

sujeito verbo conjugado infinitivo sem -r, com acento quando necessário-lo/-la/-los/-las complemento.

Recipient pronouns with verbs of giving

sujeito lhe/lhes verbo de transferência objeto dado.

Companion forms after com

sujeito verbo comigo/contigo/com você/com o senhor/com a senhora/conosco/com a gente complemento.

Conversational forms and register choices

English uses “you” for both singular and plural, without distinguishing gender or formality. Brazilian Portuguese uses several object forms for the person being addressed, including te and lhe. For third-person direct objects, o/a and os/as distinguish grammatical gender and number and can refer to people or things. In everyday speech, te often appears with você, as in “Amanhã vou te ajudar.” This pairing is common in Brazil even though você takes third-person verb forms; English has no matching pronoun-and-verb distinction.

In monitored writing, o/a/os/as are conventional direct-object forms, often attached to an infinitive after its final -r is dropped: “Quero vê-lo amanhã.” Everyday speakers often use ele or ela directly as objects instead: “Vi ele ontem.” This is common conversation, while formal writing generally prefers “Eu o vi ontem.” For recipients, lhe/lhes can mean “to him/her/them” and can also address someone as “you”; lhe with você varies by speaker and region, so the examples show it as a formal option, not the only choice. After a preposition, use forms such as comigo, contigo, com você, com o senhor/com a senhora, conosco or com a gente; choose the address form to match the relationship and level of formality.

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